suffer for a world of silence

Return to the Eve

2012-02-05T05:27:00.008-05:00

"Take my soul away into the dark,
Dreaming a thousand morbid dreams.
No tomorrow when the wind caress my mind,
Could I ever return, it would be my doom."

Celtic Frost: Morbid Tales

painting: "The Crucifixion of Saint Julia" by Hieronymus Bosch
(oil on wood panel, date unknown)

Struck With Terror

2012-01-17T03:32:00.003-05:00

Early concert by GLOOM. Performed and recorded on April 29th, '91 at 難波Bears (Namba Bears), a famous underground club in downtown Osaka City. The place is tiny. This record makes me happy.

GLOOM：濁流玉砕雑核音91

USE IT RIGHT OR DON'T FEEL IT

2011-10-01T05:47:00.005-04:00

THE ONLY REAL THING IS MISERY. SUBMISSION MEANS YOU GET MURDERED. YOU GET REVENGE WHEN YOU WAIT FOR IT. FRUSTRATED MEANS YOU'RE INSANE. HE'S A DEAD THING UNDER THE SHEET. CAUSING PAIN. SEX TURNS IMPOTENCE INTO DECAY. UNCONSCIOUS REPRESSION DEGRADES THE REAL THING. YOU CAN'T KILL A CRIMINAL NEED. WHEN YOU ARE POLLUTED WITH FEAR YOU NEED COMFORT. YOU CAN'T KILL WHAT YOU DON'T SEE. YOU CAN'T THINK WHAT YOU DON'T OWN. YOU CAN'T RUB WHAT YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. YOU DON'T GET WHAT YOU REALLY DESERVE. YOU CAN'T FIGHT IF YOU DON'T FEEL IT. OBEDIENCE PAYS IF YOU USE IT RIGHT. YOU DEGRADE YOURSELF WHEN YOU HIDE YOUR FEAR. WHEN YOU EAT YOUR PAIN YOU KEEP YOU NERVE. USE IT RIGHT. OR DON'T FEEL IT. USE IT RIGHT OR DON'T FEEL IT.

- m. gira

SWANS: COP

The Circle and The Cross

2011-07-16T18:34:00.016-04:00

The Great Day of His Wrath has Come,
And Who will be able to Stand?
Thus I saw The Horse in a Vision,
Out of His mouth issued Fire and Brimstone,
And I beheld and heard an Angel Singing,
For the Great Day of His Wrath has Come.
Cast Their Crowns before the Throne,
And unto You I say, "You are Worthy,"
And I will Kill the Child with Death,
And I will Give Them the Morning Star.
Dost Thou not Judge and Avenge Us in Blood?
A Crown of Glory that not Fadeth Away.
For Thy Pleasure They are and were Created,
Insight like unto an Emerald.
And I heard a Voice,
A Voice of Great Thunder,
And I heard Pinions of Fire,
And there appeared a Great Wonder in Heaven,
Which is a Wonder that Deceiveth the Whole World,
An Image of Peace that shall Smite the Earth
with all Forms of Plague.
Indestinant Absence,
King of Kings, Lord of Lords.
There shall be no more Pain, nor Sorrow, nor Death,
For these Former Things have Passed Away,
May Your Circle be Unwoven,
Bye and bye Lord,
Bye and bye.

- rozz williams

SHADOW PROJECT: Dreams For The Dying
Stills from Ingmar Bergman's Det sjunde inseglet ("The Seventh Seal", 1957)

飴色の背中に悲しみのくきがのびる

2011-06-04T02:46:00.006-04:00

「月光の白き林で
木の根掘れば蝉の蛹のいくつも出てきし
ああ

それはあなたを思い過ぎて変わり果てた私の姿
月光も凍てつく森で
樹液すする私は虫の女」

戸川純：『玉姫様』

This is Togawa Jun's 1984 debut solo album, Tamahimesama ("Jewel Princess").
This is the voice of Heaven. This is the voice of the Divine.

なんていいかげんな私なんだ

2011-05-29T05:51:00.008-04:00

御前ノ部屋ニ忍ビ込ンデ・・・

2011-05-27T05:02:00.019-04:00

get down on your knees and cry alone.....

2011-05-12T04:07:00.004-04:00

"The sex in your soul will damn you to hell

Damn you to hell
I will be there
When he calls my number I will be there
Let the light come in
Damn you to hell
Now save your soul
Damn you to hell
Now save your soul
Damn you to hell
Save your soul"

SWANS: Live at the Paradiso, Amsterdam, 1988-
Part 1 and Part 2

painting: "Saint Agnes" by Lis Wright-Ivec
(egg tempera with gold leaf on wood panel)

aw fuck. i wish i could go.....

2011-05-02T23:22:00.002-04:00

suicide ocean

2011-03-24T00:28:00.007-04:00

".....I could almost cry like tears of blood

and slowly it evaporates
without a trace without a scar
sometimes too blue
the moment passes
overhead, so undetected
without default, with no perfection

I could close my eyes and sleep forever
locked inside this secret silence
whisper deep inside my head
slow motion sick
until tomorrow
rewind, erase and nothing remains
the way that nothing ever does
every face is familiar in the dark....."

LYDIA LUNCH: 13.13

美術／art: 丸尾末広／Maruo Suehiro

when clocks have run down

2011-02-20T23:02:00.007-05:00

"that's when my love is in your hands,
take us back a thousand years,
when clocks have run down,
when walls of tears will follow,
smell of death is close."

photo: D. Gorton, "Mississippi State Mental Hospital, Whitfield, MS," 1970

MIGHTY SPHINCTER: In the Kingdom of Heaven

And a Wolf Shall Devour the Sun

2011-01-15T02:51:00.006-05:00

"Each day Sun and Moon were pursued by the enormous wolves Skoll, Hati, and Managarm. Kept by Angur-boda, fed on the bone marrow of murders and adulterers, of which there was no end, they grew stronger and stronger. Each day they got closer to Sol (Sun) and Mani (Moon) until one day their jaws closed around them and the life was crushed out of them. Their blood dripped from the wolves' jaws and poured down on the earth."

- Barry Holstun Lopez, Of Wolves and Men, pp. 275-276.
Artwork: "The Wolves Pursuing Sol and Mani" by J. C. Dollman, 1909.

Forgotten Woods: As the Wolves Gather

Garbage in honey

2011-01-08T03:43:00.003-05:00

A long time ago, I found a used record. It was in a bin full of warped, neglected vinyl. I bought the record and took it home. The music carved a gash. It stayed there and didn't want to leave. Here it is.

THE BIRTHDAY PARTY: It's Still Living.....

Buried By Time And Dust

2010-11-17T03:32:00.005-05:00

Visions of that no morning's light ever will come.
I'm to old now.
The dark is so near, will I ever reach the land beyond?
This is where we go when we have to die.
I've been old since the birth of time.
Time buried me in earth.
Centuries ago, I tasted blood.
Buried by time and dust.
Many years has pasted since the funeral.
Missing the blood of human throats.
So many years, ages ago.
I must await, feel my bodies stench.
Wanderings out of space.
Wandering out of time.
A world out of light, death at the end.
Only silence can be heard, silence of people's tears.
No one knows my grave.
Buried by time and dust.

- dead
MAYHEM: Live in Leipzig (11/26/90)

しおれたる華

2010-11-13T02:59:00.003-05:00

morpheus laughing

2010-11-08T02:36:00.004-05:00

an extreme solution no fossil fuel mimicking exhaust rattles troublesome a madman's vast direct iron grooved world primary state average distance closer to the sun draws a comet nearer to a complex destruction a specter so violent in its views lies impervious altitude has a tendency under pressure to reveal its identity gaping hole bright star penetration blindfold reliance wrinkles in the cloth of time unity among such a poor existence in this third world resistance should be used civil disobedience central pivot revolving heated combustion back to the origin of it all all of it no unwarranted fear courage shown the white line on the ball we live on deserted streets hallucinated the bursted species abnormal conditions deep sentiment for repulsive power nations knows immense populace ingenuity and progress never progressed out of the sun all experiments prove not need the established greed and pain inflicted on the animal model still nothing no cure the ravaged instinct silent waking to a chemical perversion wartime underground imperfect plotting grows the seeds of time

- n. ogre

SKINNY PUPPY: live at Latin Quarter, Detroit, MI, 11/09/90

「生きれぬままで死ねず、死ねぬままで生けず、血は沸騰を止めず・・・」

2010-11-02T01:42:00.005-04:00

「月ハ衛生デハ無イ。
アレハ空二開イタ穴ダ。
向コウノ世界ノ
光ガ穴カラ
漏レテイルカラ
光ッテ見エルノダ。」

− 丸尾末広、『笑う吸血鬼』

あざらし：吾ガ分裂ノ蟲裂ク時

Figurative Theatre

2010-10-07T02:45:00.018-04:00

In the shallow holes of a thousand eyes
In the knee-deep graves of future survivors
The fleshless guests live off children of the past
And their aging fingers cast the shadow of death

Their razor sharp tongues invite to relax
As they slip the skin on your eyelids back
Invasive spectators get into the act
With roses and candles, silver knives and...

Persona read women dance with priests on a side road
Your vision perspectives are turning to stone
Cabaret slide shows start shooting their load
Act one is the end, and the show now begins

Their razor sharp tongues invite to relax
As they slip the skin on your eyelids back
Invasive spectators get into the act
With roses and candles, silver knives and...

Breath ballet prancers spin on porcelain backbones
A child's muddled cry turns into hilarity
Ungracious freeloaders leave their dead on a doorstep
Flowers of doom all bloom in prosperity

Their razor sharp tongues invite to relax
As they slip the skin on your eyelids back
Invasive spectators get into the act
With roses and candles, silver knives and spoons
Silver knives and spoons

Luxuries of past days are luxuries of our days

- rozz williams
artwork: Alphonse Inoue

CHRISTIAN DEATH: ONLY THEATRE OF PAIN

mirrorsaw

2010-06-27T21:04:00.004-04:00

park within car passes terminal empty
cracks started showing through unlisted mystery
a dead child was thrown through a window
wind opens windows
whirlwinds carry promises truth
will unleash us little dogs
bite flesh biting exposing freezing the soul
whirlwind blowing through the soul

guilt crashes ceiling now fantasies gone ages ago
messed up guilt crashes through the privacy gone ages ago
??? chest freezes hands pale lighter frozen paintings
illumination gone (not wrong)
??? chest

sides heaving chest boxed in I will find the real you
writer hand in smokes my treasures
I write a note tossed aside
tossed aside word shines through a powder baby the real you
love shines through a powder feeds the real you
love shines through a powder feel the real you
love shines through a powder
final curtain what's become of me and you

- n. ogre

painting: "The Little Red Glove" by James McNeil Whistler (oil on canvas, 1896)

nobody

2010-06-06T01:10:00.002-04:00

I MEAN NOTHING TO MYSELF.
I MEAN NOTHING TO MYSELF.
I'M NOTHING, I'M NOBODY.
I HATE MY BODY, I'M STUCK IN MYSELF.
I'M NOTHING, I'M NOBODY.
I DON'T MOVE, I'M STUCK IN MYSELF.
I HATE MY BODY, I'M STUCK IN MYSELF.
I'M NOTHING, I'M NOBODY.
I'M NOTHING, I'M NOBODY.
GLORY! GLORY! GLORY!
GLORY! GLORY! GLORY!

- m. gira

all time is now

2010-05-22T21:25:00.010-04:00

SKINNY PUPPY: live at ZOPO, Horst, Netherlands (10/12/1986)

世をうみなかに

2010-04-30T10:01:00.009-04:00

なお物の怪の身に添へて。
．．．．．
なき影のたえぬも同じ。涙川。寄る辺さだめぬ浮船の。

kill floor

2010-04-08T00:17:00.009-04:00

a requiem. a dirge. cheap affection. cheaper tears.
past remembrance. wasted time. lost breath.
black and white. all is black or white.
no balance. no control. sickly sweat. forced reaction.
beating sun. oppressing light. dig a hole. bury myself.
sun burns my sickness black.

- silencesilencesilence

ashes

2010-03-12T12:37:00.008-05:00

He shut up like a rose, the scar of my belly
How I wanted him to rise up with the clouds
How I asked for love, received the wounds on cheek,
the nights empty sleep, hopeless words I can't keep
He searched just like a magnet, Oh the metal is me
How I needed him to draw it in, protect me from belief
How I pleaded then to end again, heal my rotting skin,
pleaded then, asked for sin, something I can keep
Soul of my soul, do you feel me?
Touch the beating, heart of my heart
Flesh of my flesh
Mouth of my mouth
Soul of my soul, do you feel me?
Touch the beating, heart of my heart
He shuned me like disease, the feathers in my eyes
How I need his light to purify the darkness deep inside
How I asked for warmth, received snow and sleet,
the burns on my feet, white and unsoiled sheets
He reached for all desire, kept his hands far from me
How my mind built high could rectify such pain and deceipt
How the sorrow plunged, concrete and ashen weeps
The porous bed it reeks with unresolved peaks
Soul of my soul, do you feel me?
Touch the beating, heart of my heart
Flesh of my flesh
Mouth of my mouth
Soul of my soul, do you feel me?
Touch the beating, heart of my heart
heart of my heart
heart of my heart
And now I sleep on ladders so afraid I'll fall
And now I sleep on ladders so afraid I'll fall
And now I sleep on ladders so afraid I'll fall

- rozz williams

painting: Aske ("Ashes") by Edvard Munch (oil on canvas, 1894)

CHRISTIAN DEATH: Ashes

no future for you

2010-02-22T12:59:00.003-05:00

holy fuck

2010-01-18T21:25:00.003-05:00

More news from The Man Himself:

"I have decided to focus my energy on Swans once again. I'm reactivating that project. A new album is in the works, and touring will follow in fall of 2010. In order to help raise funds / help defray the considerable costs of recording and promoting the new album, I have made a special CD/DVD limited edition handmade package called "I Am Not Insane" available exclusively at the YGR website. You can read about the CD/DVD, and my decision to reactivate Swans at this link:

http://younggodrecords.com/Releases/Detail.asp?C=2326

Thanks Very Much, and God Bless You,

Michael Gira / Swans / Angels Of Light / Young God Records"

holy fuck. "dear god in heaven..... i feel for you.... dear god in heaven......"

Arcanas Mysteria Scriptum

2010-01-15T16:44:00.009-05:00

Heic Noenum Pax
De Grandae Vus Antiquus Mulum Tristis
Arcanas Mysteria Scriptum
Invoco Crentus Domini De Daemonium
Heic Noenum Pax
Rex Sacriticulus Mortifer
Psychomantum Et Precr Exito Annos Major
Ferus Netandus Sacerdos Magus Mortem Animalium

MAYHEM: DE MYSTERIIS DOM SATHANAS

icebreaker

2010-01-06T11:22:00.007-05:00

passing ghosts here's the host talk of nothing matters most urban fracture what's the matter only I am lost rip blade doomsday cut string way they go away die love icebreaker are words misused enough those shameless view icebreaker shall sail right through cold mirror gives icy clues notice shells ails the well smell of hell dosed phantoms will future answer does it matter death's the only thrill

- n. ogre

still burning.....

2009-12-30T13:32:00.003-05:00

I just found out that Rowland S. Howard has passed away. He was one of the greatest guitar players of all time. Hands down. THE BIRTHDAY PARTY has always been one of my favorite bands. I've always listened to them and loved Rowland's guitar. He was a true genius. This really hurts.

and lay your lonliness down for the sun to consume

2009-12-23T00:21:00.007-05:00

Music: "Song for Dead time" by SWANS, White Light from the Mouth of Infinity (1990)
Film: 少女椿 (Shoujo tsubaki, "Camellia Girl", 1992) by Harada Hiroshi, based on the graphic novel 少女椿 by Maruo Suehiro

Dear god in heaven. Someone went inside my head and put my subconscious on the internet.

Once Take Back

2009-12-20T10:15:00.005-05:00

CROCODILESKINK were a vicious Tokyo band of the crusty kind. Fusing Scandi hardcore influence with Yamato noise, these punks played extremely tight and politically minded music. Harsh is the best way to describe their sound. The songs are built around driving grooves, cutting deep and jagged. Sadly, CROCODILESKINK didn't record a whole lot over their seven active years. This cd compiles their studio recordings (in reverse chronological order for some reason). It gives a great record of a band whose work deserves more attention.

An extra special thanks to COOL FOOL for sharing this. 先生、何時も最高な音楽をアップして下さって、心から感謝します！

CROCODILESKINK: a compilation of 38 tracks recorded 1990-1997

Discography info, photos, etc.

harsh stone white

2009-12-18T10:55:00.010-05:00

harsh stone white eyes behold bruise baths soak crying bones every days appeal to stop spirit calm on valium hate permeates and fills the air icy clouds the atmosphere illusions pull hair no reaction how was this done it exists by extraction of reason drooling drips the bile of sanity through the thought lines vomiting were even the clock wailed and sped past two tic tic toc in time in the real understanding myself thinking stand back unafraid and unaffected stand back non molested were even down down down again down here in the cracks face hidden cracks harsh stone white even were even

- n. ogre

martyr

2009-12-02T00:44:00.001-05:00

go fucking bananas

2009-11-20T09:53:00.004-05:00

Thanks to Mr. Internet, we now know SKINNY PUPPY's set list for this tour. Here is what last night's show in Philly looked like:

1. Love in Vein (album- Last Rites, 1992)
2. Hatekill (new!?!?)
3. Addiction (album- Cleanse, Fold, and Manipulate, 1987)
4. Dogshit (album- VIVIsect VI, 1988)
5. Deadlines (album- Bites, 1985)
6. Tormentor (album- Too Dark Park, 1990)
7. politikiL (album- Mythmaker, 2007)
8. pedafly (album- Mythmaker, 2007)
9. Rodent (album- Rabies, 1989)
10. Pro-test (album- The Greater Wrong of the Right, 2004)
11. Morpheus Laughing (album- Too Dark Park, 1990)
12. ugLi (album- Mythmaker, 2007)
13. Assimilate (album- Bites, 1985)

Encore:
1. Worlock (album- Rabies, 1989)
2. Brap (live improvisation)
3. Far Too Frail (album- Remission, 1984)

Yep, I'm giddy as hell right now. The older material is some of their very best. If they really do open with "Love in Vein" then I am going to loose it completely. Just go fucking bananas.

midnight snack

2009-11-12T00:48:00.005-05:00

Here is something tasty for your late night listening pleasure. The first three songs were originally composed for the film "HELLRAISER", but they ended up giving Clive Barker tummy trouble. The rest of the disk is comprised of short themes COIL recorded for commercials. An eerie little group of songs sure to hit the spot.

COIL: The Unreleased Themes for Hellraiser

in solvent see

2009-11-09T09:33:00.002-05:00

I got my tickets back in August. Will see them in two weeks. Am really psyched.

Official tour page
More tour related stuff
Litany

VENI SPIRITUS SATANAS

2009-11-03T23:19:00.005-05:00

"Then he summons the spirits of the dead and thee who rulest the spirits of the dead and him who guards the barriers of the stream of Lethe; and he repeats the magic spell and wildly, with frenzied lips, he chants a conjuration to appease or compel the fluttering ghosts. He pours a libation of blood on the alters and burns the sacrifices entire, and soaks the trench in pools of blood."

- Seneca

HELLHAMMER: SATANIC RITES

dissolve into nothing

2009-08-02T22:34:00.002-04:00

BODY OF CHRIST, BLOOD OF CHRIST

2009-07-26T02:09:00.009-04:00

This is the Body of Christ. Eat of it and feel pain. This is the Blood of Christ. Drink of it and know death. The soul is blind. The heart is deluded. Desire means nothing. You are selfish in your sorrow. This is the Blood of Christ. Bleed out in the corner. No one cares. This is the Body of Christ. Choke down your fear. Choke down your stinking flesh.

- silencesilencesilence

TEEN-AGE JESUS AND THE JERKS

open up all 7 seals.....

2009-07-05T21:29:00.000-04:00

holy crap!

2009-07-02T23:59:00.004-04:00

from The Man Himself:

"Anyway, once I’ve sold enough copies of the above hand made CD/DVD, I’ll commence making a new studio album. Since some of the songs really lend themselves (or how I view the songs ultimately being arranged, that is) to a (latter period) Swans-like treatment, I am considering the idea of calling the next record a Swans album, or at least some sort of hybrid between Swans and Angels of Light. It might even be like this: Swans/Angels of Light, not sure yet. Then I got to thinking that if this happens, I will probably put together a Swans/Angels Of Light tour. I am even threatening to play some older Swans material as well as Angels material on the tour. We’ll see. I haven’t even contacted the appropriate suspects/musicians/victims yet to contribute. It will NOT be Swans “reuniting” or any crap like that – more carrying forward with the thread from Swans’ Soundtracks For The Blind / Swans Are Dead period, and incorporating what I’ve learned from, and the sensibility of, Angels Of Light as well. But surely, in any event, I am anxious to feel the force of sound abuse/pass through my body again."

again, holy crap.

FUCK YOU

2009-06-14T16:12:00.003-04:00

UGLY SOCIETY
evil or justice?
money everywhere
money doll money pressure
love is money authority is money
the hell of money and greediness

GLOOM: SPEED NOISE HARDCORE RAGS

BRAIN CONTROL-ZODIAC KILLER

2009-03-29T22:19:00.001-04:00

Gate of Black Child

2009-02-21T19:47:00.006-05:00

GHOUL prowled the streets of Tokyo. Hardcore punkers with a rough, gritty sound anchored by lead singer Masami's harsh rasp. He also sang for SQWAD and BAD LOTS, but his legacy is with GHOUL's metal tinged punk rock. Very sadly, Masami passed out on stage in 1989 and remained in a coma until he passed away in 1992. But during his short life, he and his band recorded some of the fucking best punk. Period. This remastered discography cd collects just about everything GHOUL did (the song "Judas" from A Farewell To Arms comp is missing, though. Please let me know if you have this!). I did some searching on the internet and whatever photos of the band or album scans I could find are included in this download. Oh yeah, that beautiful piano intro to "Jerusalem" is played by none other than Ms. Narumi, lead singer of GAS.

GHOUL: 1984-1989

p.s. Distort Truth Distort Minds has the vinyl rip of the Game of Death comp. Another must have.

Creepy crawling throughout the night

2009-02-15T02:33:00.008-05:00

MIGHTY SPHINCTER's masterwork is a supremely vicious blood banquet of sin. There is a fine line between lunatic absurdity and sadistic violence. "THE NEW MANSON FAMILY"'s little commune of superbly crafted songs straddles that line and then humps it frantically. The band's amazing technical and compositional skills moves this album's material to deep degrees of complexity and menace. Especially Doug Clark's frantically twisting guitar, which stitches these songs together with razor wire. The overall mood lurches from the drug-fueled frenzy of zombified Mansonites, to stately vampyric ballads on immortatilty and such, before finally arriving in front of some spook house at a sleazy carnival. Only those meddling zombie Mansonites have murdered the spook house's staff, taken their place, and are now torturing centerfold models. Enjoy!

MIGHTY SPHINCTER: The New Manson Family

p.s. Head over to COSMIC HEARSE for more hot SPHINCTER action!

髑髏の円舞曲

2009-02-11T04:55:00.004-05:00

POWER FOR POWER

2009-02-08T02:04:00.011-05:00

Oppressive. Dull. Blunt. Force. The first SWANS LP just suffocates. Everything: from Gira's minimalistic and accusatory lyrics- to the death-march pound and scrap of the music- to that cover art. Teeth suspended in a total void. Chewing the weak flesh that hangs off the skeleton of the outer world. Eviscerating the pathetic inner world populated by the heart's delusional desires.

SWANS: FILTH

inhuman and stupid

2009-01-31T12:27:00.004-05:00

"standing naked in the corner
sinking into the ground
our hands connected to our feet
our shadows burnt into the wall
like the insomniac dreams"

- m. gira

SWANS: s/t four song EP

A Dark Day's Night

2009-01-10T21:35:00.005-05:00

Atom-Age Vampire 308 BALZAC ripping up downtown Tokyo's Shinjuku Loft in 1999. Sorrowful melody at overdrive cuts through the thick night like a dagger. Some of my favorite songs are in this set. Hirosuke's between song banter is pretty hysterical, too. The sound quality isn't that bad considering its an audience-recorded bootleg. Enjoy this gem.

BALZAC: A Dark Day's Night

IDIOTIC PUPPET IDIOTIC PUPPET

2008-12-23T23:55:00.007-05:00

".....a mind from which darkness, as if an inherent positive quality, poured forth upon all objects of the moral and physical universe, in one unceasing radiation of GLOOM."

- Edgar Allan Poe

GLOOM: MENTALLY ACHRONISTIC

deep down trauma hounds run to corrode

2008-12-21T02:11:00.007-05:00

SKINNY PUPPY. Barren loveless world of pure id. Theater and music bleed together to form a hyper-charged Grand Guignol. Strip your senses bare. Carve your politics to ribbon, leaving only tattered nerve endings and viscera.

All of their most important works are still in print (and easy enough to get). So if you don't already have their '85-'92 output then get your ass in gear. Money extremely well spent.

Here are a number of live shows posted on mr. youtube that I've put together as individual playlists. This footage alone makes that site worth its bandwidth.

- Mind: the Perpetual Intercourse Tour in Horst, Netherlands, 10/12/1986
- Head Trauma Tour in Ljubljana, Slovenia, 5/07/1988
- Last Rights Tour in Dallas, U.S.A., 6/26/92
- Mythrus Tour in Manchester, England, 8/15/07

俺の存在よ～

2008-12-06T20:48:00.006-05:00

THE STALIN. One of the most brilliant bands to stomp the face of this dying rock. Here they are performing new year's eve 1981 at the New Years Rock Festival in Asakusa, Tokyo. 1000% total genius. Watch and be amazed. Video in two parts.

Setlist
1) メシ食わせろ！- Meshi kuwasero!, "Eat your food!"
2) ハエ- Hae, "Fly"
3) 冷蔵庫- Reizouko, "Refrigerator"
4) バキューム- Bakyuumu, "Vacuum"
5) 解剖室- Kaiboushitu, "Autopsy Room"
6) 電動コケシ- Dendou kokeshi, "Electric Dildo"
7) アーチスト- Aachisuto, "Artist"

Go get it!

I dress my tears in costumes.....

2008-11-26T01:40:00.010-05:00

SHADOW PROJECT. The combined brilliance of Rozz Williams and Eva O., fused with Jill Emery's smooth bass guitar and Paris's keys. Half the songs are written by Eva, half by Rozz. Very important music to me.

Fall through the darkness into death- then open your eyes and reach out into the light.

SHADOW PROJECT: Shadow Project

涙のメカニズム

2008-11-26T01:36:00.003-05:00

絶世の美人：小野小町の伝説

2008-11-16T20:31:00.009-05:00

Ono no Komachi (late nineth century, exact dates unknown) was one of the greatest poets of the early Heian period. Her poetic genius lies in her masterful utilization of kakekotoba ("pivot words", words that contain double, sometimes triple meanings. The meaning of the poem literary "pivots" on the multi-layered nuances of this word-play) and intense emotional content. Komachi is also known for the legends that sprung up in medieval Japan surrounding her fate; namely, that she was karmicly punished for her genius, beauty, and pride by becoming an old beggar woman. The topic of Komachi and these legends is addressed in the following dissertation by Prof. Catherine Ryu (Michigan State University). I had the honor to meet and spend time with Prof. Ryu at a conference two years ago. An outstanding scholar and a very sweet person.

Prof. Catherine Ryu: Configuring Female Authorship in Japanese Cultural History- The Case of Ono no Komachi

On the outside looking the other way

2008-11-11T11:59:00.004-05:00

Feeling out of place. Completely isolated. Wishing to die, if only to escape reality.

Director Beth B.'s Stigmata is a film that addresses these topics without compromise. A static camera captures the faces of a small group of individuals as they relate their personal experiences with these feelings. And how it lead them all to that which brings about death within living: heroin. These candid and painful interviews are only inter-cut with brightly lit images, such as a window or travelers on a road. The genius of Beth B.'s direction and cinematic composition is how none of this is exploitative to the subjects or boring for the viewer. Efficient and raw film-making.

Its hard for me to watch this film. I lost a dear friend to heroin. Not a day goes by when I don't think about her.

Beth B.'s Stigmata

ANSWER = CHAOS

2008-11-08T10:57:00.010-05:00

　　あああああああああああああアアアアア

MONEY IS FLESH IN YOUR HAND.....

2008-11-02T21:59:00.007-05:00

Turn off the lights. Curl up in the corner. And turn the speakers up as far as they go.

SWANS: GREED/HOLY MONEY

The band formed in the early 80s in New York City, one of the final children born from No Wave's short heyday. Although to pigeon-hole Michael Gira's vision into just one city or "scene" would be a total disservice. SWANS went through several organic stages of development- complete nihilistic crush, to more textured meditations on god and self, to soaring soundscapes of staggering beauty.

This recording compiles material from 1985's GREED Lp and 1986's HOLY MONEY Lp. These songs utilizing the slow, almost physically painful musical base of the early albums while incorporating more complex song structures and a greater range of instrumentation. The addition of Jaboe on backing vocals and keyboard further deepened the resonance of the music. Just listen to the song "BLACKMAIL" for evidence of the power her voice holds.

Lyrically and thematically Gira is interested in the dichotomies of power and helplessness, dominance and submission, love and hate. Not simply setting such elements against each other; rather exposing how they are, truly, one and the same. It all crystallizes, at least for me, on the song "A HANGING".

As fas as I know the songs for both albums were written and recorded around the same time. The progression of one song to another on this compilation enhances the overall effect of the album.

Well over 1/4 of my music collection is SWANS or related. My favorite band.

Ran away dark

2008-11-01T14:12:00.006-04:00

Urban swamp songs. Decay and sexual abandon turns into frustration. Total rock and roll, (but not?)

After TEEN-AGE JESUS and the JERKS imploded, Lydia Lunch (who we'll be hearing a lot from) formed 8 EYED SPY with ex-members of The Contortions and other No Wave superstars. The band created a unique, almost '50s rock tinged sonic fracture. Lower East side transformed into a backwoods hell-hole.

The band was only active for a short period and didn't put out much material before they dissolved. Maybe only two 7"s at most. This album, Live, was co-released postmortem in 1981 by the excellent ROIR Records label and the Dunceteria club. 8 EYED SPY have long been one of my favorite bands. I was twitching around to this in high school while my so called "friends" were pushing Tori Amos, commercialized "punk", and shitty '70s "prog" rock.

"Lazy In Love"

tongue on rye

2008-10-28T23:29:00.009-04:00

Horror is about transgression. The blurring of boundaries. Or maybe its just about a three-hundred year old monster sucking people's brains out through the back of their necks with his razor sharp forked tongue.

I first saw clips of this little Mexican dandy on USA Network's divine Reel Wild Cinema, a show I sorely miss. I still have my fan club card. Sandra Bernhard hosted clips of Z-grade treats wearing tight leopard print numbers or lime-green pleather. Suffice to say every element of that show made a big impression on my teen-age psyche. El Baron del Terror (or the American release title of The Brainiac, cause, ya know, he eats brains) was one of the stranger flavors introduced.

Note: I tried to set this up as a download so you could have the whole film for your own. Couldn't get it to work, though. You can watch the movie on youtube at least.

now go get that tongue action!

suffer for a world of silence.....

2008-10-28T22:34:00.006-04:00

I had been entertaining the idea of starting a blog. And this album is as good a one to start with as any. Its one I listen to all the time. Any time.

BALZAC have become one of the most musically dynamic and prolific bands operating today. But back in the early '90s they were struggling to make a name for themselves in Osaka's punk rock underground. The Last Men On Earth was their first full length album. It was recorded in only a few days and for not much money and released in 1995 by Alchemy Records. It has been out of print for a while and is hard to find. And expensive. Last Men displays a culmination of their early sound, which was strongly influenced by SAMHAIN and early GASTUNK. And yeah, orginal bassist Anti did try his damnedest to look like Jerry Only. However in these songs you can already hear lead singer Hirosuke's unique sensibilities at work. The fusion of pop melodies and hooks with bleak death punk drive. Although most of the songs are named after B-grade horror films, lyrically we are in far different waters:

Psycho in 308

"It's coming down.....
Millions in the black
Lose sight of the road that's ahead
Psycho in 308
Black or white?
Suffer for a world of silence
Is home a world of chaos?
Everybody's lost their own way
Is home a world of sadness?
Everybody's lost their own way
Thousands of tears
Take in your tears"

All the lyrics to this album were first written in Japanese and then translated into English by some Canadian guy in another Osaka hardcore band. The original Japanese has a different nuance to it, but the akward English all over this album has an abstract beauty all its own. BALZAC still play a few of these songs live. I've seen them three times when I've been in Japan and the crowd always goes fucking apeshit when the guys launch into any Last Men material. Yeah, I like this album a lot.

Now go get it